In a three-line judgment, the ConCourt denied former President Jacob Zuma’s request to appeal the high court interim interdict that halted his private prosecution of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court said it had studied the plea for a direct appeal and “concluded no case has been made for a direct appeal.”
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The former president was attempting to challenge a temporary injunction that had, in any case, been superseded by events. Last month, the Johannesburg High Court issued a final interdict, thus ending the prosecution.
The court said it found that it was “for an ulterior purpose in what amounts to an abuse of this court’s process”.
The interim interdict, granted in January, meant Ramaphosa did not have to appear in court as a criminal defendant.
When Zuma approached the Supreme Court, he particularly requested that the court hear and rule on his appeal before May 26, the date the criminal court was scheduled to reconvene, with his attorney stating that “in respect of future dates of appearance, this application is of critical importance.”
The former president accused Ramaphosa of being an “accessory after the fact” in a separate private case he had launched against prosecutor Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan after Downer presented Maughan with a medical report regarding Zuma, which was later lodged in court.
Zuma charged the two with violating the National Prosecuting Authority Act. Ramaphosa’s claimed infraction was that when Zuma wrote to the president requesting an investigation, Ramaphosa did nothing.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court dismissed the Downer/Maughan prosecution, citing an abuse of process.
In pleading with the Supreme Court to rule by May 26, Zuma’s attorney, Walter Niedinger, said Zuma’s application was easily one of the saddest chapters in the history of injustice in South Africa and addressed some of the most fundamental issues that flow into the DNA of South Africa, past, present, and future.
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According to News24, the private prosecutions of Downer, Maughan, and Ramaphosa were at least partially funded by Gauteng diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg, who is also Liebenberg’s attorney.
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court denied Zuma leave to appeal, it opted not to pay him costs. Meanwhile, the Department of Correctional Services stated today Friday that Zuma is not returning to prison.
